KATIBAS assemblyman Lidam Assan has called upon the Sarawak government to implement a policy of “Buy Local First”.
With the policy, he also urged the Education Department to support the programme by requiring school food caterers to buy from local farmers.
“In Katibas constituency, we have 17 Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) and three Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK). I believe the schools can absorb significant amount of our local products.
“We can review their menu and where possible we substitute them with local produces, for example, marine fish substitute with inland fish, cucumber, and other vegetables,” he said in the august House on Thursday (May 9).
He also said by doing so, they can contribute to the wellbeing of the farmers who may be parents to the schoolchildren.
“I also request that at least 50 per cent of official meals should consist of local products. The government should provide necessary support to ensure supply consistency.”
On a related note, he said education is the sharpest weapon to eradicate poverty and improve the life of rural community.
“As such we all must ensure rural children have access to quality education. It may involve establishing comprehensive educational programmes, inclusive policies, and adequate resources to empower individuals from diverse backgrounds, especially rural children.
“STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is crucial to power Sarawak digital innovation and technological advancement.”
Meanwhile, he added that there are 17 primary schools without any Science Laboratory to facilitate learnings. “Therefore, I urge the Education Ministry’s immediate intervention.”
He also requested Socioeconomic Specific Intervention Fund (SSIF) support to improve the performance of rural socioeconomic and to be given directly to service centres (Pusat Khidmat).
